Also is Ilinykh actually Kazakh? I was under the impression she was Russian and just born in Kazakhstan. She could pass for being Italian or French, so if she is truly fully Kazakh, I am quite surprised.

To be honest, I don’t know Elena Ilinykh’s ethnic background.

OK, so she has a Russian name. But, she doesn’t look purely Russian. She does have a Turkic look about her. So, I would say she is a mixture of Russian and Kazakh.

At least with Dennis Ten, his background is obvious. He has a Korean name. He looks Korean. Therefore, I have always tended to refer to him as being Korean.

I suppose I just referred to Elena as Kazakh to remind people that that was where she was actually born.

Oh, and I should add: I once posted a comment on my Facebook wall in which I described Elena as “Kazakh”. And, she clicked the “like” button on it! So, perhaps that suggests something...

It’s been a while since I visited this thread so, after posting in the male thread, I thought I should maybe take a look at the female thread again.

Originally Posted by chloepoco

I think it's an unwritten rule that to be a female figure skater, one must be beautiful!

You know, I think chloepoco might be right, because of all the names that have been mentioned since I revived this discussion, there are only a couple that I would disagree with!

Obviously, Julia Lipnitskaya is one of them. But, that is just because I am 27 and she is 14. If I was 20 or younger, I might think differently. But I’m not.

You remember in The "Say Something Nice About Your Least Favorite Skater" Thread, I said there were only 2 skaters that I actively didn’t like, but I didn’t want to reveal who one of them was. I said there was something about her that I didn’t like, but I didn’t know exactly what it was. Well, over the past few months, I have noticed something strange happening. I am now starting to find her attractive!!! Which is something I would NEVER have expected to happen!

Like, this skater has been on the senior circuit for 7 years, and in all that time I never found her attractive. In fact, she was about the only skater that I thought wasn’t that pretty. But, perhaps my dislike for her was clouding my judgement. Although, that said, I never let disliking her get in the way of liking her partner…

Originally Posted by sky_fly20

Meryl does excessive make up

Funny sky_fly20 should say that Meryl wears too much make-up, because that is the only reason that I did not include Monika Simancikova in my list!

Originally Posted by silverlake22

Monika Simancikova - harsh Eastern European features, but she makes them work and her thin, muscular physique I find very attractive

I wouldn’t use the word “harsh”, though. I quite like Eastern European features…

Originally Posted by Reginald

Fumie Suguri I don't usually like women 12 years older than me, but her outright determination to continue skating when everybody wants her to quit is downright sexy.

Well, I don’t usually like women 20 years older than me, but Kati Witt was still attractive when she was 40. But then, she had a massive head-start as she was very beautiful when she was competing. She’s well past it now, though.

But, getting back to Fumie. A lot of Japanese (male and female) tend to age prematurely, and it usually happens very quickly. Fumie is one of the exceptions. OK, so she is not quite as cute as she was 10 years ago, but she still looks absolutely stunning. Never mind her determination to carry on being downright sexy; Fumie herself is downright sexy! I was totally mesmerised by her at the New Year’s gala at Oberstdorf, particularly during her performance in the first half...!!!

I’ll just add here, I loved the costume(s) Fumie wore in the first routine (I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t even notice the zip in the dress until she started un-doing it!), but didn’t like her costume for the second routine. For me, dresses that are completely covered in tassels just don’t work as a skating costume.

Originally Posted by silverlake22

Zijun Li - classic Asian beauty. Cute for now, will be stunning later

Originally Posted by sky_fly20

Zijun Li- she is very leggy she will be beautiful as she matures

Personally, I think she’s already there! Still has a young face, but those legs are to die for!!!

Originally Posted by Narumi1997

I'm surprised no one mentioned Kaitlyn Weaver...saw her in person at the Cdn Champs this weeked and she's just gorgeous

When I was writing my original comment, I was dithering between Ashley and Kaitlyn over which to keep in the shortened version of my list. So I went for Ashley because I had something specific I wanted to say about her. But, Kaitlyn is stunning too! I’m SOOOO jealous that you got to meet her!

Originally Posted by TartanSk8ter01

Kaetlyn: she glows with prettiness, and I like her body, btw.

There are others, but I just wanted to put Kaetlyn Osmond in there. Can't understand why she's ignored, especially considering some of the others listed.

Just realized who she reminded me of...Kylie Platt on Coronation Street.

When I first saw Kaetlyn Osmond at Skate Canada, I thought “She reminds me of somebody, but I can’t think who…” So, when TartanSk8ter01 suggested that Kaetlyn looks like “Kylie” from Corrie, my first thought was “Nah, I don’t think it was her”. Like, I have fancied Paula Lane (who plays “Kylie Turner”) ever since I first saw her in “Heartbeat” (PLEASE, ITV, bring back “Heartbeat”!!! And while you’re at it, bring back “The Bill”!!!) And, I didn’t think that she looked like Kaetlyn.

But, since reading that comment, I have been looking at Paula more carefully whenever “Kylie” has been on Corrie. And at Kaetlyn when she was competing in the Four Continents. And I can now safely say that I am blind! They are the absolute image of each other!!!

Mind you, I think Kaetlyn is more like Paula in real life than when she is playing her Corrie character “Kylie”. For those who don’t get to see Corrie, when she arrived “Kylie” had a very “chavvy” style. Thankfully, the producers have made her more stylish since then! More like Paula is in real life!

As we are comparing her to a skater, I thought it would be a good idea to post a photo of Paula when she is all dressed up. So, here she is at the TV Choice Awards a few months ago:

I am not knockin' physical beauty....but in all truth I have no idea what it is or why we think one person is better than another. Is it nature or nurture? In some African countries, women with saucers imbedded in their lips are thought beautiful. In some micro cultures in the US, tatoos on women are thought beautiful. To Paraphrase Robert Pirsig, Beauty is just what you like. So if I was raised in a middle class 1950s White America, we can understand why I think Gracie Gold is beautiful, but I also like Miki Ando and Yu-Na. Go figure. It is also interesting to hear what I assume is mostly women talk about female beauty. Men hardly ever would comment on male handsomeness. Indeed, men who I think my friends who happen to be female might like, they more often turn up their noses at. I am no judge at all of who is handsome....except I think I look just like Brad Pitt, right louisa05? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1jbU...ature=youtu.be

As for what makes people beautiful, of course you're right about things like tattoos and discs in the lower lip being prized by some cultures (and not by thee or me!). But I think that every culture admires harmonious, symmetrical features; and a nice smile makes someone from almost any culture appealing to people from every culture. We're lucky nowadays that, thanks to mass media, we've all had a chance to become acquainted with all the world's kinds of beauty. I'm only sorry that Rembrandt, Sargent, and Eakins didn't get a chance to make portraits of people who looked like Shizuka, YuNa, or Angelika Krilova.

I have another theory about why so many skaters are considered beautiful. We get to know them. When you enjoy watching someone skate time after time, you see something beautiful created by that person. I've warmed to skaters who were not beauty queens, but after watching them for a few years, I couldn't tell the difference between them and the glamor girls. Anyway, pretty much everyone who's young and healthy and graceful and smiles is attractive.